Combined suction cleaner and floor polisher



ug. 14, 1956 G. T. FILLERY 21,758,328

COMBINED SUCTION CLEANER AND FLOOR POLISHER Filed Feb. 29, 1952. 3shets-sheet 1 v1 I t C) ,l

mvENToR Gannon il: FaLLERY Aug. 14, 1956 G. T. FILLERY COMBINED SUCTIONCLEANER AND FLOOR POLISHER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 29, 1952 INVENTOR@enum n FaLLay ug- M 1956 i G. T. FILLERY 2,758,328

COMBINED SUCTION CLEANER AND FLOOR POLISHER Filed Feb. 29, 1952 3Sheets-Sheet 3 v l p A 511mm@ L." A 5 L wai@ ImaENTo R GoRDoN r Fa LLERYATTORNEY CUMBINED SUCTION CLEANER AND FLOOR POLISH-IER Gordon ThomasFillery, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa ApplicationFebruary 29, 1952, Serial-No. 274,136

Claims priority, application Great Britain March 14, 1951 14 Claims.(Cl. 15--328) This invention relates to a combined suction-cleaning andfloor-polishing apparatus of the kind comprisingv a casing formedintegrally with or carrying a suction nozzle, a rotary floor polishingelement or elements carried by the casing for retraction into the casingand an electric motor, carried by the casing which drives the` polishingelement or elements when inthe operative position, the suction nozzleand polishing elements being each adjustable from an on-the-floorposition to an off-the-oor position and vice versa.

It is to be understood that when the suction nozzle is in theon-the-tloor position it may be either in actual contact with thel floorsurface or may be slightly raised therefrom and that when in theoff-the-floor position it may operate with a reducedv suction eiectv tocarry away dust raised during polishing.

This invention concerns apparatus in which-when the polishing elementsare in the on-the-iloor position the nozzle is in the oi-the-floorpositionl andl vice versa and means are provided simultaneously toadjust the polishing, element or elements and the suction nozzle and toconnect or disconnect, as-is appropriate, the drive to the polishingelements and the object of the present invention is the provision of animproved construction of said means-which for convenience willhereinafter be referred to briey as the adjusting means.

A preferred construction of combined suction-cleaner and floor-polishingapparatus in accordance with the present invention will now bedescribed, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings whereof:

Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of an apparatus in accordancewith this invention,

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic sectional plan View of the apparatus ofFigure 1, to a smaller size, showing the main elements thereof,

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Figure l,

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 showing a detail ofconstruction, and

Figure 5 is a View in the direction of the arrow 5 of Figure 1 showing aconstructional detail.

Referring to Figures l', 2 and 3: the apparatus comprises a casing,generally indicated by the reference numeral 1t), on the top of which ismounted an electric motor 11 enclosed within a housing 9'which drives avertical spindle 12 projecting into the casing 10. A fan 13, ot' anyknown or convenient construction, is mounted on the spindle 12 within afan chamber 14'which forms part of the casing 1G. An opening 15 placesthe fan chamber 14 in communication with a suction nozzle generallyindicated at 16 so that, in well known manner, air is drawn through thenozzle 16 `by the fan 13. The nozzle 16 has anopening 17 of generallyrectangular form in plan within which rotates a brush 18" which isdriven -by belt 19 from the spindle 12'. t will be noted? in Figure 1'that the spindle 12 is grooved at 20-toreceive the band 19.

The casing 19 is support'edon a-pair of side rollersf21 nited StatesPatent' 'ice 2 and back rollers 22', all of which are mounted within thecasing 10. y

The nozzle 16 is towards the front of the casing 10and in the rearportion thereof there is disposed the polishing elements and theadjusting means therefor. Each polishing element comprises a backingdisc 23 which carries the bristles Zi'and eachdisc 23`is rotatablysupported by bearing 2S from a carrier plate 26; The carrier plate 26(as shown in Figures 2 and 3) is common to both polishing elements whichrotate about parallel vertical axes and, as shown in` Figure 3, arearranged so that the peripheries of the discs 23 are spaced apart by asmall amount and less than the diameter of the spindle 121 The spindle12 is adapted, as later described in detail, to enter between theperipheries of the discs' 23 and separately to drive each disc. Ifdesired the driving spindle 12 may be faced with rubber to engage thediscs 23 or the latter may, alternatively oradditionally, be formed witha rubber facing. The spindle 12 constitutes the rotary driving memberreferred to above.

The carrier plate 26 is supportedat-opposite sides by a pair of parallellinks 27 each of which is pivotally secured to the casing 10T by pin 28`and to the carrier 26 by the pin 29 (see Figure 4). Thus, each-side ofthe carrier 26 is supported from the casing 11i by a-parallel linkmechanism which permits'the carrier 26Y and the brushes 24 to besimultaneously moved in the horizontal and vertical directions. lnFigure 1y the position of the links 27, the carrier 26 and the brushes24 is shown in full lines when the brushes are in the on-the-oorposition and in chain dotted linesy when the brushes are in theoif-the-iloor position and it will be observed that the links 27 aremoved from-the former position to the latter position by pivotaladjustment in the rearward directionand upwardly into Vthe casing.

The carrier plate 26 is formed on its rear edge with a pair of lugs 30which a're connected together by a pin 31. The casing 10 is formed witha boss 32 that constitutes a bearing for a` spindle 33 which passesdownwardly through the casing 10 and carries at its lower'end a crankpin 34 which engagesY the pin 31 so `that with rotation of the spindle33 from the fullL line position shown in Figure l to-the chain dottedposition the carrier plate 26 is drawn rearwardly to move the polishingelements 24 from the on-the-floor position to the olf-'the-oor position.Spindle 33 is manually adjusted by lever 48 and vthere may be providedacatch, such-as a ball catch, which ensures that the spindle 33l isheld-against inadvertent displacement in either'ofv its two positionsreferred to. Each of a pair of springs 35 (are oneachside of a'verticalplane passing through spindle 12) has one end anchored to the casing, asat 36, and the-other end secured tol the carrier plate 26,y as at 37,the arrangement being that the plate 26 is drawn forwardly i. e. towardsthe nozzle 16' (see Figure 3) and to its on-the-floor position. Thesprings 35 therefore hold the pin=31 againstl the crank pin 34.

The links 27 when the polishingA elements 24` are in their on-the-floorposition arel slightly to one side of a vertical dead center position asis apparent from Figure 1. The polishing elements when in theiron-the-floor position support the casing 10 andl themotor 11 and thelinks 27 being beyond the vertical deady center position theweight ofthe casing 1l)l and motor 11i is applied to the'linksv 27 tendingto-movethe carrier 26 towards the left as seenin Figure 1. Such movement isprevented by engagement of discs 23`- withv spindle 12 which constitutesa stop limiting the movement' of the polishing elements-` at theiron-the-'oor position.v

TheV rear wheels 22' arev vertically# adjustable so that when thepolishing elementsf24" are in their on-the-oor positionl the Wheelsv 22are raised relatively to the" casing I to ensure that they do not engagethe floor during polishing. The wheels 22 are lowered when the polish--ing elements are in their off-the-floor position so that the wheels 22engage with the oor and, in certain circumstances as later described,tilt casing to bring opening 17 close to the oor.

The mechanism for raising and lowering the wheels 22 is moreparticularly shown in Figure 1 to which reference will now be made. Thewheels 22 are carried by a frame 3S integrally formed with a pair ofarms 39 each pivoted to the casing 10 upon alining pins dit. As is shownin Figure 3, the arms 39 branch from opposite sides of the frame.Springs 4l which are located between the casing 16 and a platform 42forming a part of the frame 33 urge frame 38 downwardly, the frame 38pivoting about the pins 4t). Frame 38 is formed with a cam surface 43which coacts with a follower 44 secured to crank 34, the arrangementbeing that with rotation of the spindle 33 follower 44 is adjustedrelatively to cam 43 to raise the frame 33 or to permit the springs filto lower it, the springs 41 and cam mechanism 43 44 thus servingcooperatively as means for vertically moving said frame. The cam 43 andthe crank pin 34 are so disposed that when the polishing elements 24 arelowered, frame 38 and the rollers 22 are raised and vice versa.

it is customary to provide adjustment for the nozzle 1 6 to take accountof the different pile thicknesses of the carpets which are being cleanedand to adjust the nozzle 16 to a datum position depending upon thenature of the carpet. This is provided for in the apparatus beingdescribed by having a knob 45 pivotally mounted ou the rear face of thecasing 10 and carrying a square block 4o (see Figure 5). Adjustment ofthe knob 45 serves to rotate the block 46 the center of which is offsetwith respect to the axis of rotation of the kncb 4S. The block 46engages with a curved face 47 provided on frame 3S and maintained inengagement with the block 46 by springs 41. As is evident from Figure 5rotation of the knob 45 will bring one or other of the tlat faces of theblock 46 beneath face 47, the block 46 serving to limit the downwardmovement of the frame 38, the extent of the downward movement beingdetermined by whichever face of the block is brought opposite theportion 47 of frame 38. In this way the extent to which the rollers 22are lowered is adjustable to determine the datum setting of the nozzle16. Of course, the frame 38 is lowered by springs 4l when crank 3asuitably adjusts follower 44 relatively to cam 43 as above described.

In an alternative arrangement to that described above the crank 34 maybe formed with a cam surface to cooperate with a follower on the frame38.

By providing a certain looseness for the pivotal connection of the links27 to the carrier plate 26 and/or the casing 1() the carrier plate iscapable of movement across the casing 10 so that when the discs 23 aremoved into engagement with spindle 12 the discs 23 will automaticallyadjust themselves to bring the spindle centrally between the discs. willbe driven uniformly. It follows that by making these parts tonon-precision standards the advantage referred to is obtained and thecost of manufacture is kept low.

I claim:

l. A combined suction-cleaning and floor-polishing apparatus comprisinga casing normally supported on rollers, a suction nozzle carried by thecasing and cornmunicating with the interior thereof, an electric motorcarried by the casing, a suction fan driven by the electric motor andcommunicating with said nozzle to suck air therethrough, a rotarydriving member driven by said motor, a pair of depending arms pivotallyattached to said casing for swinging movement in a substantiallyvertical plane, a carrier member pivotally attached to said arms andforming therewith a parallel linkage sus- It is thereby ensured thatboth discs pended from said casing, a vertical axle rotatably mounted insaid carrier member and horizontally spaced from said rotary drivingmember, a polishing element rotatably mounted on said vertical axle, andmanually operatable means for swinging said arms, said arms when swungguiding said carrier member and polishing-element through a singlecontinuous arc and bringing said polishing element at one end of saidarc into frictional engagement with said rotary driving member and intoa lowered position relative to said casing in which it contacts the Hoorand supports said casing and suction nozzle away from the floor, andbringing said polishing element at the other end of said arc into aposition transversely removed from engagement with said rotary drivingmember, raised with respect to said casing and ott the iloor, so as topermit said casing and nozzle to approach the floor.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said arms in moving from oneend of said arc to the other pass through a vertical dead centerposition.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which there are two pairs of armsfor supporting said carrier arranged within the casing at opposite sidesof the carrier, one pair on each side, and each pair of armsconstituting a parallel-link mechanism.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein there are two polishingelements mounted on parallel vertical axles, and the axis of rotation ofsaid driving member is in a vertical plane passing between saidpolishing elements, a horizontal line passing through the axes of thepolishing elements being normal to said plane.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which the said arms move in planesparallel to said vertical plane.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the polishing elements areeach provided with a disc the periphery of which is adapted forfrictional driving engagement with the driving member and spring meansurging the carrier to a position in which said discs each engage saiddriving member.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said manually operatable meansfor swinging said arm supported carrier comprises a manually adjustablecrank mechanism having a crank pin which engages the carrier to draw it,on adjustment of the crank mechanism, in one direction against theaction of said spring means.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein when the polishing elementsare in the on-the-floor position the polishing discs engage the drivingmember which constitutes a stop preventing further swinging movement ofthe carrier on its arms in the forward direction.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim i in which the casing is provided withat least one vertically adjustable roller for supporting it above thefloor when said brush is in its oi-the-floor position and manuallyadjustable means mounted on said casing for varying the verticalposition of said roller with respect to said casing when said brush isin its off-the-tloor position.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said roller is mounted on acarrying frame which is pivotally mounted on the casing.

il. Apparatus as claimed in claim l0 wherein the means for varying thevertical position of said roller includes a manually adjustable stopimit.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim l1 in which said frame-limiting stopcomprises a block of rectangular outline the rectangular surfaces ofwhich are engaged by said frame, said block being rotatable about anaxis, the normal distances from said axis to a plurality of saidrectangular' surfaces being unequal.

13. A combined suction cleaner' and licor polisher comprising a casing,an electric motor on the casing, a substantially vertical spindle drivenby the motor, a suction nozzle on the casing, a fan driven by the motorto suck air through the nozzle, a pair of circular polishing brushes, acarrier from which the brushes are rotatably suspended within thecasing, means supporting the carrier from the casing for movement in asingle continuous arc between an o-the-oor position and an on-the-loorposition in which said spindle frictionally drives the brushes9 a crankmechanism to move the carrier in said arc to retract the brushes towithin the casing and at the 5 same time disengage the brushes from thespindle, a frame carried by the casing for substantially verticalmovement relatively thereto, casing-supporting wheels carried by theframe, means including a cam mechanism to move said frame, and a commonmanual control for simultaneously actuating the crank and cam mechanismswhereby the frame with its wheels is lowered relatively to the casingwhen the carrier is raised to retract the brushes.

14. A combined suction cleaner and floor polisher as claimed in claim 13in which the crank mechanism and a part of the cam mechanism are carriedby a shaft which is rotated by said common manual control and thewheelcarrying frame has a cam face engaged by said part.

References Cited in the le of this patent i UNITED STATES PATENTS

